Survey underway to measure Brownsville's digital divide

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The next step in moving Brownsville away from the bottom of the digital divide table is conducting a comprehensive survey.Lit Communities has been hired by the City of Brownsville to conduct the survey, which is titled Bring Better Broadband to Brownsville.“This is going to be the primary way we are going to capture the needs here in Brownsville, whether you are a resident or a business,” said Rene Gonzalez, chief strategy officer for Lit Communities.“This is our demand aggregation platform. It is basically the survey portal we have created to explain to the community what we are doing and how we are trying to get it done.”According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Brownsville is one of the least “wired” communities in the nation. This unenviable title prompted Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez to make the digital divide one of his top issues at his first State of the City address. Gonzalez announced details of the survey on a webinar hosted by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce last week. The Bring Better Broadband to Brownsville study is slated to be officially launched on Aug. 26. Gonzalez said a website is being launched to coincide with the study.He said residents and business owners living in the catchment area would be encouraged to enter their address on the website. They would be asked how they are using the internet, what the current download speeds are, how much they are paying for broadband and how satisfied they are with the speed, reliability and price of the service.“We also want to know whether what you have at the moment adequately supports what you want to do.”Gonzalez said there will also be some hypothetical options given. If a better internet service was provided, would people sign up for it. “We want to understand what the needs are, in order do a financial model and projection,” he said.Gonzalez said it is important to hear from those who are not subscribing to a broadband service.“What are the reasons? We want to know. Is it because you do not have access? Is it because it is unaffordable? Is it because you needs a device? It is basically the beginning of us being able to explore really more the digital divide issue.”He added that the survey can be completed in Spanish and that a Spanish language version of the website has been created. He noted that this is first time Lit Communities has had to create a full Spanish language platform for a community it has partnered with. Editor's Note: A more detailed story about Build Better Broadband in Brownsville is available the Rio Grande Guardian website. Go to: https://riograndeguardian.com.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.